Fiji National Rugby League is taking necessary steps in growing the sport of rugby league in the country and Chairman Aporosa Lutunauga said it’s a step in the right direction.
The FNRL has introduced a top eight competition this year that comprises of top rugby league teams around the country that runs parallel with the zone competitions in place.
“This is the new model we’ve been following and have adopted,” said Lutunauga at the Eastern State Rugby League competition at Bidesi ground in Laucala Bay, Suva yesterday.
“We have the Super 8 that caters for the top eight teams in the country, and then we have the club competitions in the Eastern and Western states.
“Teams that do well in this competition will be promoted to the top eight competitions next year where the elite teams are.
“We will review this model at the end of the year to see if it has worked on not.
“This is being done just to create pathways for our future generations to make their way up the ranks.”
Lutunauga said it would greatly help the youth, giving them much-needed development in the sport.
“We want players to make their way up through the FNRL pathways,” he said.
“From these club competitions, to the Fiji Residents team, and then on to the Fiji Bati.
“We’ve seen our Bati team perform well at the past three Rugby League World Cups so this is the steps taken to ensure we can compete well at that level.”
